A Special Bond
by grissomrocks
Summary: Nick has a heart to heart with his daughter.


**Title:** A Special Bond

**Rating: **T

**Category:** General

**Author:** grissomrocks

**Summary:** Father-daughter conversation.

**Spoilers:** "Gumdrops", "Grave Danger", "Stalker"

**Disclaimer:** Don't own them and not making any money from this. Just like to indulge my overactive imagination.

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It was Nick's night off and he was spending it at home catching up on watching some DVDs that he had received for Christmas. He was so engrossed in one particular Western that he almost didn't notice the fifteen-year-old girl crawl onto the couch and snuggle up next to him.

He paused the DVD. "Hi, honey. Did I have the TV on too loud?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I had a nightmare. I couldn't get back to sleep." She looked up at Nick, her expression tired, yet inquisitive. "Do you ever have nightmares, Dad?"

"Yeah," Nick admitted. "Not too often, but they can be pretty intense."

More curiosity. "About the cases you've had?"

Nick said, "Nah. There have been some cases that have been frustrating, but I've been able to cope. It's the things that have happened to me personally that my brain is still trying to deal with."

The teenager was nothing if not persistent. "Like what?"

Nick wasn't sure if he should tell her. He had always tried to keep his work life away from home. But he remembered always telling his daughter that if things were bothering her, to come and talk to him. Nick realized he'd be a hypocrite if he didn't tell her about the things that bothered him.

He explained to her about some of the things that had happened to him as a CSI, the things that still occasionally invaded his dreams. A stalker that physically attacked him twice, once in Nick's own apartment. An innocent man murdered in Nick's apartment by that same stalker. His kidnapping, being buried alive, and being besieged by fire ants. He also told her about how he almost shot himself in that glass coffin.

When Nick was finished, the teenager's tone of voice conveyed a respectful rebuke. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I don't like to dwell on it," Nick replied truthfully. "Besides, I wasn't sure you were old enough to understand."

In typical teenage fashion, she rolled her eyes at him. "Puh-leese, Dad. After what happened to me? Why do you always want to baby me?"

Nick ruffled his daughter's hair. She was right, he did have a tendency to baby her. Sometimes he forgot that she was practically a woman now and could handle some of the more unpleasant things that fate threw out at people. It was hard, though, to fight that parental instinct that wanted to shield her from the darker side of life that he encountered every day.

He answered her as best he could. "Maybe because I want to try and give you back some of the innocence you lost." A fatherly kiss was placed on the teen's head. "Besides, why would you want to know about my past anyway?"

"Because it helps me understand you better," she replied simply. "Why you don't give up on people. That's what my nightmare was about – what would've happened if you had given up on me." She pressed in closer to Nick as she remembered the horrific images.

Nick gave her a hug. "That will never happen, sweetie." He then noticed the girl struggling to keep her eyes open. "Ready to go back to bed now? You've got to be 100 percent for that swim meet after school."

"Yeah, I guess so." Before she got up off the couch, however, she hugged Nick as tightly as she could. "Thanks, Dad."

"What for?" Nick didn't feel as though he had just done anything special. Just regular "Dad" stuff.

The teenager replied. "Adopting me. I don't think any other parent would've been able to understand me the way you do. And now I know why." She kissed Nick on the cheek. "Good night, Dad. Love ya."

"Love you too, Cassie. Good night and have sweet dreams."

**_The End_**

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**Disclaimer:** I know this scenario (unrelated single man adopting a teenage girl) more than likely violates the rules for adopting children for most, if not all, states. Not to mention it probably violates the ethics code for CSIs (getting too attached to a victim). But, I had this scenario in my head and had to go with it. 


End file.
